New | JD.com steps up e-commerce challenge with cross-border platform
E-commerce giant sets up platform to allow mainlanders to buy from overseas firms
JD Worldwide will allow mainland shoppers to buy goods from US firms such as Nike, Starbucks and Ocean Spray Cranberries, as well as products from countries like Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Britain, JD said.
Overseas suppliers will provide more than 1,200 brands, without those merchants requiring a presence in China.
But JD still trails far behind Alibaba in mainland e-commerce.
Alibaba's high profile since its record-breaking US$25 billion listing in the US in September last year is a huge lure for brands looking to enter or raise their presence in China, which some analysts estimate as the world's biggest online shopping market.